


Pies And Recreation

by IBoatedHere



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alicia Zimmermann is essentially Li'l Sebastian to Bitty, Alternate Universe, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Parks and Rec AU, Politician Alicia Zimmermann, Slow Burn, treat yo self 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-09-01 04:55:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8609245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IBoatedHere/pseuds/IBoatedHere
Summary: “Today we are welcoming two new auditors from Boston.” He grabs a paper off his desk. “A B. Knight.” He frowns. “And Jack Zimmermann. I'm not at all worried about what they're going to find. I am completely confident in the economic security of this town. In fact, I’m glad they’re here. Two new faces to try my pie and I can run my new plan by them to see what they think. I think they’ll like it. I mean, introducing cooking and painting classes to the local Y. That’s something that should have been here anyways. I’m feeling very optimistic.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> Since Ao3 is the worlds worst at formatting (I've seriously been working on posting this for over an hour) I wasn't able to indent the whole paragraph when an interview is being given directly to the camera so I had to settle. Every time there's a horizontal line break that's a talking head.

Bitty looks up from his desk to see two men standing in the doorway to his office.

The shorter of the two has his hair pulled back into a bun as the base of his neck and a neatly trimmed mustache. He’s not wearing a tie and a pair of aviator sunglasses hangs off the unbuttoned collar of his shirt. He’s leaning casually against the wall with a smile on his face.

The other man is much more stiff. More put together. He’s standing straight with squared off, wide shoulders and a blue tie that contrasts sharply against his crisp, white shirt. He has a strong jawline and severe cheekbones and piercing blue eyes that stand out against his winter pale skin and dark hair.

He clears his throat and Bitty realizes that he’s been staring so he pushes himself up out of his chair, almost knocking it over as he does.

“My auditors!” He claps his hands and puts on his best polite southern host smile. “I’ve been waiting for you. Come on in, take a seat. Get comfortable. Can I take your coats? Would you like a slice of pie? I can warm it up for you.” He doesn’t wait for an answer and pops two slices in his toaster oven.

“You have a toaster oven in your office?” The taller one says.

“Sure do. Best way to heat it up. Microwaving it just isn’t the same. I’d put an oven in here if I thought it would fit.”

“That cannot be up to code,” he mumbles and the other auditor steps forward.

“Hook me up, bro.”

 

 

* * *

 “Today we are welcoming two new auditors from Boston.” He grabs a paper off his desk. “A B. Knight.” He frowns. “And Jack Zimmermann. I'm not at all worried about what they're going to find. I am completely confident in the economic security of this town. In fact, I’m glad they’re here. Two new faces to try my pie and I can run my new plan by them to see what they think. I think they’ll like it. I mean, introducing cooking and painting classes to the local Y. That’s something that should have been here anyways. I’m feeling very optimistic.”

* * *

 

 

“We need you to cut your budget in half.” Mr. Zimmermann cuts straight to the chase and normally Bitty would appreciate not mincing words but right now they makes the bottom drop out of his stomach and his heart lodge in his throat in the most terrible way.

“What? How? Why?”

“I’m not sure which one of those you want me to answer first,” Mr. Zimmermann says. Next to him Mr. Knight is noisily eating a slice of apple pie, smacking his lips and moaning each time the fork slides out of his mouth. Bitty is momentarily distracted. “Mr. Bittle?”

“Eric. Please. Or Bitty, if you’d like. Why, I guess. You can start with why.”

“The government is simply spending too much. Cuts need to be made across the board, you’re not going to be the only one having to deal with this and I know it might seem daunting--”

“But I’ve cut the budget already. I mean, we’re using off brand coffee pods for the Keurig.”

Mr. Zimmermann presses his lips together in a firm line and Mr. Knight tips his head to the side, considering, as he dots up the crumbs on his plate with his finger. He sets the plate down and picks up the second slice, originally meant for his coworker, and starts in on it.

“I guess we can start make some other changes to save a little money. I can try to find someplace cheaper to buy our office supplies.”

“You’re going to need to think a little bigger than that. This department doesn’t generate a lot revenue.”

“No, it's the Parks and Recreation Department. It’s more about giving back to the community than receiving from it. How is a playground supposed to generate money?”

“That’s not for us to figure out. If you had you might not be in this situation.”

“Are you suggesting that I __charge__ kids to play on a playground?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Bitty, no way.” Mr. Knight leans forward and slides his plate onto the desk. “That’s not what we’re saying at all. We’re not monsters.” He slaps Mr. Zimmermann hard on the shoulder. “Honestly, I don’t even want to be doing this to you right now, I think what you’re doing here is great. I looked into it and the state of Samwell’s parks have definitely improved since you took over. There’s no denying that you’re doing a great job and you clearly care about the community. And this pie, bro, I am in love.”

“Well, thank you Mr. Knight.” A blush crawls across his face at the compliment and he makes a note to box up the pie and send it off with him.

“Shitty.”

Bitty blinked at him. “What?”

“You can call me Shitty.”

“I….I really don’t see how I can do that.”

“C’mon, I’m calling you Bitty. Mr. Knight is so stuffy. So formal. We’re all friends here and I seriously think you missed your calling as a pastry chef somewhere in like, Paris or something.”

“You know it’s always been my dream to go there.”

“I’m sure it’ll happen for you one day. Do you speak any French?”

“Not a bit.”

“My buddy Jack here could help you out, couldn’t you? French Canadian if you couldn’t tell by that wicked sweet accent. You’re not originally from Mass, are you?”

“Oh lord no, born and raised in Georgia. I came up here on a hockey scholarship and fell in love with the town.”

“Hockey scholarship.” He elbows him in the side. “You hear that, Jack, hockey.”

“If we could get back on track, please. Now the most effective way to cut costs would be cutting a salary.”

“You want me to fire someone?”

“It’s a small department in a small town. Do you really need seven employees?” “I need all of them.”

“Who was the last person you hired? You should let them go.”

“There is no way on God's green Earth that I am going to fire Chowder.”

“There has to be another way,” Bitty pleads.

“We’re open to suggestions, Bits.” “But you’re going to have to come up with more than store brand coffee and discount office supplies.”

“What about a bake sale?”

Mr. Zimmermann frowns. “You can’t save the government with baked goods.”

“I think you’re underestimating the power of my pies, Mr. Zimmermann.”

“You can call him, Jack and I, personally, would buy so many pies, man.”

“You need a real plan. Do you think you can come up with one? Is that something you’re capable of doing?” “I can come up with a plan. I actually have a plan for setting up more classes at the Y, specifically art and cooking classes. Studies show how important art can be as a creative outlet, it lowers stress and improves mood and cooking, well, I cannot begin to tell you how clueless the majority of college students are about cooking for themselves. I have horror stories from my own college days. Most of them don’t have the money to sign up for an actual class so if offered it at a discount I really think they’d be receptive to it. I have a whole binder on it if you’d like to read it.”

Shitty makes grabby hands but Mr. Zimmermann holds them down. “I don’t think you understand what’s happening here. Your binder plans aren’t going to happen until you cut your budget and maybe not even then. This is serious.”

“I know it’s serious.”

“And you need to do something about it. If you can’t I’m sure you can be replaced with someone that can. That actually might be easier. If you step down someone from your department can step up and take over. Someone with a more decisive mind.”

“They would never do that to me.”

“They wouldn’t have much of a choice. You either fire one of them or step down.”

“I’m not going to do either.”

“Then the whole department will collapse. That would save the town a lot of money.”

“You can’t do that,” Bitty cries.

“You think this doesn’t happen all the time? No one writes articles on Parks and Rec departments from small New England towns folding in on themselves but trust me, it happens.”

“But what would happen to the parks?”

“With no one there to maintain them they’d get shut down.”

Bitty makes a pained sound and Shitty looks terribly sympathetic but Jack just rolls on.

“Now you can either get with the program and do your job or you can get out of the way and let someone else do it for you. It’s entirely up to you. We’ve got an office set up on the third floor if you want to talk seriously. We expect an actual plan from you by the end of the week. Have a good day, Mr. Bittle.”

Bitty stares after him as he goes, determined not to cry.

Mr. Knight stands up and stuffs his hands into his pockets. “I’m really sorry, Bitty. This is coming from higher up and Jack’s just trying to do his job. He’s a little brash sometimes-.”

“I understand, Mr. Knight.”

“Please, for the last time, call me Shitty.”

Bitty heaves a sigh and nods.

“Alright, man,” Shitty holds out a fist and Bitty cautiously bumps his own against it. “Now about that pie. Think I could grab another slice?”

“Shitty,” he says and tries not to smile at the way his eyes light up, “you can take the whole thing.”

 

* * *

        “I don't know who that Jack Zimmermann thinks he is just waltzing in here in his expensive coat with his hair and eyes and cheekbones and frankly inhuman butt and demanding that I fire someone? I mean pardon my language but what the hell? And he yelled at me in my own office. In front of my own pie which he refused to eat. He's rude. He doesn’t think I need all these employees.” He looks out into his office. Chowder has rolled his chair around to sit close to Lardo. Their heads are bent together and he’s watching in fascination and admiration as she sketches something on a piece of notebook paper. Dex is trying to fix the water cooler at the front door and Nursey is leaning on it, trying to help but ultimately causing more of a headache for Dex. Ransom and Holster are sitting opposite each other tapping away on their keyboards, they pause and high five each other and then go right back to work. They all put a soft smile on his face. “I need all of them. I don’t know what I would do without them. I’m gonna show that Jack Zimmermann. I’m going to come up with a brilliant plan….a pie oriented plan and I’m going rub it in his perfect face when it works. He’ll be so sorry. This is now my life’s mission.”

* * *

 

* * *

 “I know my Jacky-boy can be a little intense. He’s really a good guy once you get to know him. Only problem is,” he pauses to dig his fork directly into the pie on his plate and loads it up, “he acts like that and people don’t want to get to know him. He just cares so much about everything he does. Or.” He shrugs and jams the fork into his mouth. “Or he doesn’t care at all. He walks a fine line which I mean, can’t really blame him after everything he’s been through.” He stops and his eyes dart back and forth like he’s said too much. “He should have tried this pie though, I mean, holy shit. I didn’t know anything could taste like this. I’m never going to be satisfied with another pie for as long as I live. This saved me and ruined me at the exact same time.”

* * *

 

* * *

“Of course I don’t want to see the parks department close. I don’t want to take playgrounds away from kids. I’m not that much of an asshole,” Jack says softly. “Shitty’s going to tell you I shouldn’t have been so hard on this Bittle kid but he needs to realize that this is serious. It’s not fun and games and pies...it’s real life. Sometimes bad things happen and there’s nothing you can do about it. You just have to deal with it after the fact.” He looks down at his hands. They’re shaking just slightly and he jams them into the pockets of his trousers. “Are we done here? Did you get what you needed?” He doesn’t wait for a response before he mumbles “great” and strides off in the direction of his office. 

* * *

 

“He wants you to fire someone?” Lardo has to lean close and yell to be heard over the late night crowd at Jerry’s. It’s usually not this busy but there’s a Bruins game on TV and the college kids are really getting into it.

“He wants me to fire Chowder.”

Lardo slumps back against the booth.

“I know. I'm not doing it though. Look at him.”

Chowder is leaning against the bar talking to a tall, pretty, brunette. They’re both blushing and laughing and Bitty kind of wants to cry.

“This is his first job. I’m not firing him from his first job for no reason. I mean, except for the fact that we can’t afford to pay his salary there is no good reason to fire him.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Something with pie so that stupid beautiful faced Jack Zimmermann has to admit that he’s wrong,” he says and Lardo smirks at him. “I have to figure it out soon.”

“But you don’t have to do it tonight. So we should get hammered and you can drunkenly explain to me the shape of his butt.”

 

* * *

“I’m going to regret this in the morning but tonight.” He pauses dramatically and tries to find the straw in his fourth drink of the night. “Tonight I’m talking about the butt.” 

* * *

 

 

“And it is just so….I could bounce a quarter off of it.” He lets his head roll back against the booth. Lardo laughs into her drink but Bitty is sure she’s not drunk. “I want you to see it but that would mean you would have to see him and probably maybe interact with him and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy and definitely not on my best friend. But it is something everyone should see before they die. It’s like one of the Wonders of the World.”

“Looks like I’ll get my chance right now,” Lardo says as she nods to the door.

Bitty’s head whips around so fast he hears the joint in his neck pop.

Shitty is stomping his feet against front mat trying to dislodge snow from his boots. His hair is free of the elastic that was confining it this morning and gets tossed side to side over his shoulders as he moves.

Behind him is Jack. He’s wearing jeans and a brown coat. Bitty can see a hint of red flannel peaking out the bottom of it and his cheeks are flushed from the mid-autumn air. He looks as good as he does uncomfortable mixed in with a bunch of college kids yelling at the TV.

“What is he doing here?”

“I invited Shitty. I ran into him in the hall and he’s actually really cool. I asked him if he wanted to get drinks tonight and he said yes. I guess Jack tagged along.”

“We were supposed to have fun tonight. And I can’t believe you call him Shitty.”

“He asked me to. I’m just respecting his wishes and we still can have fun.”

“Not with them. Not with __him__.”

Lardo pats his hand and darts up from the booth. “You’ll be just fine.”

Bitty watches her navigate easily through the crowd and Shitty smiles when he sees her and Bitty’s foul mood starts to dissipate. He’s so gone on her already. But then Jack catches his eye and raises his hand in an awkward little wave and Bitty scowls and turns back around.

 

* * *

“I’m gonna do something real petty tonight. I can feel it.” He taps his glass with his fingertip. “All thanks to this.” He tries to fish out a pineapple chunk that’s fallen to the bottom with the plastic stirrer and then gives up in favor of tipping the glass back against his lips. He gets a mouthful of ice. The pineapple is still at the bottom of his glass.

* * *

 

“Hey, Eric.” Jack’s shoulders are slumped and he’s holding two bottles of beer in his hands when he approaches Bitty’s table.

Bitty crosses his arms and stares straight ahead.

Jack clears his throat and Bitty rolls his eyes and looks up.

“I got you a beer. I thought you might like it.” He sets it on the table in front of him when Bitty makes no move to actually take it from him. He clears his throat again and rubs his hand against the back of his head and Bitty is drunk and angry enough to not want to fill the silence. He’s content with watching Jack squirm. “I thought I’d come over and….I thought….I…”

“Why did you come over?” Bitty finally snaps. “Are you going to yell at me some more? Belittle my pies? Tell me I’m incompetent.”

“I didn’t say you were incompetent.”

“You implied it. You threatened my job.”

“It’s not me. I was sent here. It’s my job. I don’t know what else to do.”

“I can tell you what you can do. You can walk away and take your beer with you.” He pushes it towards the edge of the table and Jack grabs it before it falls off. “Because I did not ask for it and I didn’t ask for you to come talk to me. I didn’t ask you to come here tonight. I don’t want you here. I don’t want to speak to you outside of work. I don’t even want to speak to you at work but I have to and I’m gonna prove you wrong Mr. Zimmermann-”

“You can call me Jack.”

Bitty narrows his eyes at him in disbelief. “ _ _Mr. Zimmermann,__ I’m going to prove you wrong. I can’t wait to see the look on your stupid handsome face when I show you my plan that does not include firing my sweet Chowder and for sure includes my pies.”

“Okay, if that’s something you think you can come up with.”

“It is something I can come up with.”

There’s a long pause where they’re both staring at each other in silence. Jack’s a little blurry but Bitty can tell that his eyes look sadder than they did this morning.

“I guess I’ll leave you alone then. I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”

“Unfortunately,” Bitty says because he’s on his seventh drink and he doesn’t know where Lardo is and he’s still mad.

Jack frowns and Bitty watches him walk away because he’s drunk but he’s still going to admire the view. Jack leaves both beer bottles on the bar and keeps his eyes on the ground until he’s out the door.

 

           

* * *

“I feel great about telling Jack off…..jack off….” He drops his head in his hands and laughs until he’s doubled over. 

* * *

 

           

* * *

“I feel terrible about that. He was trying to apologize to me and it was really weird the way he was doing it but maybe he’s just weird. I don’t know him.” 

* * *

 

           

* * *

“I do know him. He’s like every guy I went to highschool with thinking they’re better than me and throwing their weight around. This was good.” 

* * *

 

           

* * *

“This was terrible.” 

* * *

 

 

* * *

 “No. No. This is good. I stuck up for myself.”

* * *

         

* * *

“I stuck up for myself while drunk at a bar. I’m still drinking! That’s so unprofessional. I have to apologize.” 

* * *

 

         

* * *

 “I am never going to apologize to Jack Zimmermann.”

* * *

 

        

* * *

“.......I’m going to apologize to Jack Zimmermann. First thing in the morning. Oh lord.”

* * *

 

********

 

“Um, Mr. Zimmermann.” Bitty taps his knuckles on the door jam with the hand that’s not holding his travel cup of coffee.

Jack looks up from the file he’s reading.

“Hi, Jack. I came to apologize for last night.”

Jack nods to the empty chair across from him and Bitty sits down. “Obviously I wasn’t in the best headspace and I had a lot to drink which isn’t an excuse but….I’m sorry for what I said to you last night.”

“Do you even remember what you said?”

“Not really,” Bitty shyly admits. “But I remember how you looked when I was talking to you and it looked like you were sad...I think. You were kind of blurry.”

Jack huffs a laugh. “It was unprofessional and I hope that you don’t hold that against me.”

Jack drops his chin into his palm and gives him a tight smile. “Do you want to go get coffee with me?”

“What?”

“Coffee? Do you want to go get some?”

“Umm.” He gestures to the coffee that’s still in his hand. It’s still half full.

“You look like you could use another. You can finish that one on the way there. If you want to.”

Bitty just nods.

 

********  

 

Annie’s is quiet after the early morning rush and they sit at a table in the corner with their drinks.

Bitty has a latte and Jack has tea and as they sip their feet bump beneath the table.

“I think I need to apologize too.”

“You really don’t, Jack.”

“I know I can be hard to handle sometimes. A lot of the time. And I think I was a little aggressive sometimes. Shitty says I’m overcompensating.”

“For what?”

“You really don’t know who I am?”

“Am I supposed to?”

“Zimmermann.”

Bitty shakes his head.

“Alicia Zimmermann. Bad Bob Zimmermann.”

There’s a beat of silence and then Bitty slaps his hands to his face. “Oh my god, you’re that Jack Zimmermann?”

           

* * *

“Jack Zimmermann is the son of Bad Bob and Alicia Zimmermann. They’re gorgeous so I guess there’s a reason why Jack is the way he is. Anyways, Bad Bob was this huge hockey star way before I was born and Alicia was an actress-model-all around amazing human who went to Samwell. After they got married and Bob retired Alicia decided to get into politics because I guess, why not? They decided to come back to Samwell because Alicia had fallen in love with it and slowly but surely Alicia rose in the ranks from Mayor to Governor and successfully served two terms. The people loved her. And him. People still talk about the two of them. After Alicia served her terms they moved back to Montreal. Enter, Jack Zimmermann. When Jack turned eighteen he returned to Samwell and ran for Mayor despite not having any prior political experience. Somehow, he won. I think the voters were expecting a legacy. Six months later there was a halfway completed sports complex on the outskirts of town and the town was bankrupt. In six months. It took him six months to spend all the money. Jack was impeached and then no one heard from him again. Until now. __Oh lord__. That made national news. It didn’t stick around for more than a few weeks but he was the butt of a lot of late night talk show jokes. They were terrible to him. I remember watching something about him on Leno when my parents thought I was asleep. Even back then I thought Jack was so cute. Oh my god,” he gasps. “He might have caused my sexual awakening.”

* * *

 

 

“Did you always know you wanted to follow your mom into politics?”

“No. I wanted to follow my dad into hockey. I was pretty good at it too but then when I was sixteen I got injured at practice and they said that even if I healed completely I would never play the way that I used to. I didn’t want people calling me some watered down version of my father so I decided to go ahead and get myself elected as mayor. You know how that worked out. I was a disappointment in another field. It didn’t even matter. I felt like I let both of them down.”

“You were eighteen, Jack. You weren’t ready for that.”

“I know that now. Back then I thought I was going to succeed at something for once in my life. And then I built that skating rink.”

“What did you call it?”

“Ice Town.”

Bitty stifles a laugh. “Oh, Jack.”

“I know. I had no business being mayor. I was stupid and so broken hearted over losing hockey and I had so much pressure on me and so much to prove. Plus I had- I __have__ a problem handling stress. Anxiety.” He hazards a look at Bitty but Bitty just nods, encouraging him to go on. “After I got impeached I kind of….” He trails off. “It wasn’t good.”

    

* * *

“I was taking pills to help with my anxiety. I still am. But the night of my impeachment I took too many and woke up in the hospital. And then I went to rehab. I don’t really like to talk about it but since you asked….if Bittle asks please don’t tell him.”

* * *

 

 

“I laid low and once people started to forget about it I went to school, got my degree, and now I do this. I’m trying to win back trust and show people that I can be responsible, that I’m not that kid that spends all their money on an ice rink.”

“Why an ice rink? Did you miss hockey that much?”

“Yes. It’s probably stupid but one of my earliest memories is skating with my parents at the rink at the Winter Festival that the town used to put on. We used to come down and stay in Boston and drive out here while it was going on. I had so much fun and I just wanted a place for kids to go and skate year round. Maybe they’d like it as much as I did. Especially since they stopped putting on the festival a fews years before I was elected.”

Bitty’s eyes go wide and he reaches out and grabs Jack’s arm. “Oh. Oh. The Festival.”

“What about it?”

“Drink your tea.” Bitty holds the cup up this his lips and forces him to drink. “Hurry up, we need to leave. We have a ton of work to do.”

       

* * *

“The Winter Festival was a time honored tradition here in Samwell. It attracted crowds and vendors from all over New England for a week long celebration of all things winter. It was wildly successful and brought in a ton of money for the town. Unfortunately, fifteen years ago they had to stop putting it on due to budget cuts….I’m sensing an unsettling pattern.”

* * *

 

 

 

 

“Winter Festival 2016. Back from the dead and better than ever.”

Bitty drops the proposal on Shitty’s desk. Jack leans over him to start reading it.

“I’ve spent the last four days doing research. I’ve stress baked ten pies and haven’t slept at all but that right there- that’s going to save the town.”

“It’s very thorough,” Jack murmurs as he turns the pages.

“Where are all these pies?” Shitty asks.

“They are in my office. Don’t worry. I baked three for you specifically and you’re welcome to come pick them up as soon as you approve this.”

Shitty grabs the binder from Jack and skims the first page. “Looks great, time for pie.” He pushes himself up from his desk and Bitty claps his hands.

“Hold on, Shits. I don’t want to be a downer here but are you sure you can get this done in time?” “Yes. No problem.”

“They used to start planning for the following year's Winter Fest the day after the current one ended. I have four weeks.”

“And you can get enough people to help you out? To set it up?”

“I think my department can handle it.”

“Your department is seven people.”

“Seven.” He points to Jack and Shitty. “Eight, nine. I’m counting on volunteers.”

“Where are you going to hold it?”

“It used to be held in the center of town.”

“There’s no way you’re going to be able to push through the permits in time,” Shitty tells him.

“I know. It’s a good thing there’s a big, empty, swath of pavement on the outskirts of town.”

Jack slumps heavily onto Shitty’s desk and Shitty claps him on the shoulder.

“You ready to go back to Ice Town, Bro?”

 

             

* * *

“Welcome to Ice Town!” Bitty spreads his arms in the empty parking lot to show off the crumbling building behind him. “They started tearing it down and then they ran out of money so….this is what’s left. It’s a real hotspot for teen weed dealing and sloppy make out sessions in the back seats of cars. I’m sure that’s not what Jack had in mind when he came up with the idea for this place.” He sighs and looks over to where Jack is sitting on the curb with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands looking miserable. Shitty is next to him trying to force feed him pecan pie. “Oh boy.”

* * *

 

 

“Shitty, can you go drag Ransom and Holster out of the bushes before they find something they really don’t want to find?”

Ransom shrieks as Holster emerges with a pair of ladies underwear hanging off the end of a tree branch. He proceeds to chase Chowder around with it until Chowder hides behind Lardo and Holster immediately backs off.

“Maybe you could go get Dex and Nursey to stop hurling chunks of concrete at each other instead?”

“Will do, Little Bits, hold my pie.”

He ambles off and Bitty sits down next to Jack with the pie balanced across his knees. Shitty does not put a stop to the concrete hurling and instead incites a game of monkey in the middle with the whole group.

“This is why I try not to take them places,” Bitty jokes but Jack doesn’t laugh. His tense expression doesn’t change. “You know if you look at the spot that’s still mostly upright you can really see your vision for this place.”

“You don’t have to lie, Bittle.”

“I wasn’t.”

Jack gives him a look.

“Okay. Fine. You should really have some pie. It’ll make you feel better.” Bitty holds a bite out on the fork and pushes it closer and closer to Jack before he finally opens his mouth and takes it. His eyes light up immediately and he makes a happy little noise in the back of his throat as he chews. Bitty smiles at him. “A’tta boy.”

“Oh my god, can I?” He holds his hands out towards the fork and the pie plate and Bitty eagerly hands them both over.

“Of course, sweetheart. There’s more where that came from, too.”

Jack hums in pleasure around another bite and Bitty is so proud he could burst.

“I think I was wrong. You could absolutely save the government with this pie.”

“I’m counting on it, Jack.” He rubs his hand across Jack’s back. The wool coat he’s wearing is warm from the sun and his hair looks more brown than jet black with the light bouncing off of it. “I’m counting on it.”

 

           

* * *

“Before I can even start getting vendors and volunteers I have to have my plan approved by city council which means I have to present it to a public forum. This is going to be the most difficult part.”

* * *

 

 

“It’s really going to get everyone into the Christmas cheer," Bitty tells the crowd. 

“I don’t think the government should have anything to do with Christmas,” someone shouts.

“I think it should have more to do with Christmas,” someone else yells back.

“Holiday cheer,” Bitty tries to placate them. “Winter cheer. It’s the Winter Festival.”

“But will there be Christmas related items sold there.”

“Well, I’m sure there will be.”

“I don’t like that.”

“I”m sure there will be other….non Christmas items on sale too.”

__“I don’t like that.”_ _

“If you don’t like it can’t you just not buy it?”

The room erupts into seven different arguments and Shitty, who is standing to the side of the stage, whistles low so only Jack can hear him.

“Holy hell, man.”

Jack nods in agreement.

“Listen, everyone, please!” Bitty shouts to get their attention. It mostly works. “There’s going to be something for everyone. This town used to host Winter Fest every single year. It’s going to be just how you remember it. It’s really going to drum up nostalgia. It’s going to be great.”

“So you say.”

“It’s going to boost the economy. It used to get upwards of 30,000 visitors and that was before social media. Just think how many we can get now.”

“How do you know it’s going to turn a profit?”

“My department is working very closely with a couple of financial advisers who have assured me-.”

“You’re working with Jack Zimmermann. You gave your financial plan to Jack Zimmermann. Am I the only one who sees the irony in that?”

Bitty bristles.

“Do you have any idea what Zimmermann put this town through?”

“I am aware of certain….missteps Mr. Zimmermann might have made,” Bitty says diplomatically.

“Missteps!” A few people start to laugh. “He bankrupted this town. We’re still recovering. You’re trying to throw this festival together to boost the economy which he destroyed and you’re getting advice from him? Why should we trust that?”

“There were many different factors that lead to the current state of the economy.”

“Number one, Jack Zimmermann. He is nothing like his parents.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Bitty says, voice harsh and demanding of attention. “We all know that what happened with Ice Town but Mr. Zimmermann has been nothing but respectful and helpful and it’s become clear to me over the past week that all he wants it what’s best for this town.”

 

         

* * *

“They don’t need to know that I hated him at first.”

* * *

 

 

“He is not his mother or father but neither am I. It’s not a bad thing. We all find our own way in life and Jack is doing his best to find his. He is smart and kind and really cares about his job and that’s the most important thing.”

 

         

* * *

“I have no idea what I’m saying but it sounds good.”

* * *

 

 

“Everyone deserves respect and a second chance and we should give it to him. With his help Winter Fest 2016 is going to be the most successful Winter Fest ever.”

 

* * *

“Now this thing has to be a success, oh my god, what did I do? That’s too much pressure.”

* * *

 

 

“Also, you guys were the ones that elected an eighteen year old boy for mayor. You did that. Attempting to build an ice rink for little kids to skate at so they could fall in love with hockey is literally the least offensive thing he could have done. You should consider yourselves lucky. Anyways. Thank you for your time, please consider my proposal, have a nice day,” he says quickly before he hops off the stage.

There’s scattered applause and the chairman gets the crowd under order before he starts on the next topic.

“Bits, that was amazing.”

“Is it always like this?” Jack asks.

“This was nothing. This was calm compared to what it usually is.”

     

* * *

“There’s just something about a town meeting that turns rational people crazy.”

* * *

 

 

         

* * *

“Bitty handled that crowd a lot better than I would have. If that had been me up there and they started talking shit about Jack I would’ve just.” He holds up both middle fingers and waves them around. “Then I would have ripped the mic off the little mic stand and dropped it. Peace.”

* * *

 

 

         

* * *

“Bittle said some really nice things about me up there. I have to make sure I don’t let him down.”

* * *

 

 

The next morning Bitty glides into his office with a huge smile on his face and a two trays full of coffee plus one tea for Jack.

“Good news everyone! City Council just got back to me and they approved our plan for the Winter Festival!”

Everyone gives a cheer around their drinks.

“Now we have to actually physically plan the thing. It’s going to be a lot of work and we don’t have a lot of time but if you’re feeling overwhelmed at any moment let me know and I’ll try to help you out.”

“Bitty.” Lardo puts her hand on her arm. “We can handle it. What do you need us to do?”

“Lards, I need you and Chowder to be in charge of our media campaign. Create a twitter account, instagram, facebook. Design a physical flyer and start posting them. Get the word out. Go into the city and post them if you need to. I need a banner too. Shitty, you can go with if you want.”

Shitty gives him a salute and follows them out the door.

“Ransom and Holster, I really need a better plan for parking. I kind of glossed over it in the plan and hoped they wouldn’t notice and they didn’t but I really need a place for all these people to park so….get on that. Dex, if you have an uncle in demolition now would be the time to call him because what’s left of Ice Town needs to go. I’m sorry Jack.”

“I know and it’s okay. I’ve actually already taken care of it. I talked to my parents and they agreed that it’s a good thing that it’s finally coming all the way down. I told them what you wanted to do with the space and they said they wanted to help so they hired someone to tear it down. Anonymously, of course.”

“You told your parents about Winter Fest?”

“Yeah. They love what you're doing.”

“You told them about me?”

“Yes, they might come to the festival.”

“Really?”

 

           

* * *

“There is so much pressure on me right now. Alicia and Bob Zimmermann coming to my Winter Festival.” He takes a deep breath and bends over to rests his hands on his knees. “So much pressure.”

* * *

 

 

“Thank them for me, okay Jack? Dex and Nursey- why don't you head out there and oversee it. Let me know if there's a problem.”

“Do you think they’ll let me drive the bulldozer?” Nursey asks as they head out.

“No way, you need a license to operate one of those things.”

“I think I could figure it out.”

“So now you think you’re better than the bulldozer operator?”

“Man...I didn’t say that.”

Their voices fade away the further they get down the hall and Bitty turns to Jack.

“I really hope they don’t let him drive that thing.”

“They won’t. So what job do you have for me?” “You are going to help me talk to vendors.”

“I don’t really know if I’m the best person for that. You saw how those people reacted to me at the meeting. I don’t want to screw this up for you.”

Bitty pats his arm. “You’re not going to screw it up for me. You’re not going to talk to them at all. You’re going to help me bake a lot of pies.”

“You’re going to bribe them with pie? That doesn’t sound….ethical.”

“Bribe is such a nasty word. It’s just one friend giving another friend a baked good. What’s wrong with that?”

 

           

* * *

“I am going to bribe them with pie.”

* * *

 

 

“I don’t know, Bittle, I’m not the best baker either.”

“Lucky for you, I am. We’ll even each other right out. You just swing by my place after work and we’ll get started, okay? Now get out of here. I’ve got calls to make and meetings to set up.”

   

* * *

“I’m not nervous about Jack coming over. Why would I be?”

* * *

 

 

           

* * *

Jack tugs at his tie and runs a hand through his hair. “Should I bring something with me to his place?”

* * *

 

 

Every surface in Bitty's kitchen is covered with baking supplies. Flour, sugar, disposable pie plates, pots and pans, fruit, chocolate, nuts. He’s wearing an apron with a dark red stain across the front and his sleeves are pushed up to his elbows.

 

           

* * *

“My goal is to get twenty five vendors but I’m secretly shooting for thirty,” he says as he measures out a cup of sugar and adds it to a pot full of raspberries. “Aim high, right? That also means that I need to make at least thirty pies which is not going to be easy. Hopefully Jack isn’t completely clueless.” There’s a knock at the door and Bitty jumps and presses a hand over his heart. “Speak of the devil.”

* * *

 

 

He brushes his hands on the apron and pads barefoot to the front door.

Jack is in the glow of the porch light with snowflakes in his hair and a bottle of wine in his hand.

“Oh,” is all Bitty can say for a moment as he takes him in. “I didn’t know it was snowing.”

“Just started. It’s not supposed to be much. Just flurries. Can I come in?”

“Oh, of course,” Bitty steps out of the doorway and Jack shuts it behind him. “Where are my manners?”

Jack starts to toe off his shoes.

“You don’t have to do that,” Bitty tells him and Jack shakes his head then lines them up besides Bitty’s.

“It’s no problem. I brought this.” He hands the wine over looking sheepish as he hangs his coat on the hook. He’s wearing a dark blue sweater underneath.

“That is so thoughtful.”

“I didn’t want to show up empty handed.”

“Do you want a glass,” Bitty asks as he heads back into the kitchen. “Or a couple. We’ve been so busy lately it might be nice to unwind.”

“I don’t really drink all that often but I’ll have a glass.”

Bitty whips around. “I don’t want to force you. I have soda and water, I think I have orange juice.”

“It’s okay, Bittle.”

“I don’t have to drink either.”

“Bittle.” He steps up to him and takes the bottle. Their fingers brush during the hand off. “It’s fine. Where’s your corkscrew?”

It takes a moment for Bitty to find his words as he watches him walk into the kitchen. “In the drawer next to the dishwasher.”

 Bitty __drinks__ as Jack __sips__ and they slowly work their way through six different pies. Bitty patiently explains how to work the lattice on the apple pie that will go to Mr. Lewis, who Bitty hopes will agree to take up a booth and sell his winter vegetables. He walks Jack through the steps of making meringue to go atop the key lime pie made specifically for Mrs. Donovan, a former resident of Florida, who makes handmade Christmas ornaments. There’s a cherry pie for Miss. Kennedy, a chocolate peppermint pie for Mrs. Murphy, peanut butter toffee for Mr. Dakin, and banana cream for Mr. and Mrs. Price.

Jack is a lot better than he let on. He’s a quick study and takes direction well and after awhile Bitty figures out that he only screws something up when he thinks it’ll make him laugh. It always works and Bitty shoves him right in the middle of his chest with a flour covered hand leaving a handprint on his sweater.

“Sorry, sorry,” Bitty mumbles as he tries to brush it off. All he ends up doing is pushing the flour into the fabric and it takes him longer than it should to realize that he’s just rubbing at Jack’s chest which is unfairly firm beneath his palm. “Sorry,” Bitty says as he yanks his hand back.

“It’s okay,” Jack says softly.

They’re standing very close and Jack’s eyes are very blue.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Bitty blurts out, “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay?” Bitty is a few steps away before he darts back to grab his wine glass and takes it with him.

 

           

* * *

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he whispers in the bathroom. He knows the walls are very thin. “I had a couple of glasses and I’m stressed and I haven’t eaten since noon and Jack….he smells so good.” He takes another long sip of wine and drains the glass.

* * *

 

 

           

* * *

“I think it’s going really well.” Jack tries to get as much sticky dough off his fingers as he can before he reaches for his glass. “I know Bittle has a lot more pies to bake but hopefully this is a good start. I don’t think I messed him up too much. He probably would have told me. I hope he’s okay.”

* * *

 

 

“Do you want dinner?”

Jack only jumps a little at the sound of Bitty’s voice.

“I haven’t had anything to eat yet and I was just wondering….”

“You really feel like cooking after all of this?”

“Oh lord no, I was going to order a pizza. Do you want to stay?” He’s already placing the order on the app before Jack can say anything. “By the time it gets here we should be just about finished.”

“Do you want more wine?” “No. I think it’s time I switch to water.”

They keep prepping the dough for the pies that Bitty will bake tomorrow until the doorbell rings and Jack shuffles off, sliding in socked feet across the tile floor.

“I’ll buy.”

“I already paid for it on my phone.”

“Then I’ll leave the tip.”

Bitty shakes his head as he cleans his hands off and watches Jack fish a couple of bills out of his wallet to give to the delivery boy.

He leaves the dishes in the sink, grabs two paper plates, and nods for Jack to take a seat on the couch.

There’s a comfortable distance between them as they start to eat and Jack finishes what’s left of the wine. It’s not much.

They watch the news then switch over to sports highlights on ESPN and somewhere between football stats and the last piece of pizza Bitty finds himself nodding off against Jack’s shoulder. Jack doesn’t do anything to stop it.

Bitty wakes up completely horizontal on the couch with a blanket covering him. The water is running in the kitchen and when he looks up Jack is standing at the sink scrubbing the last dirty dish.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Bitty says as Jack puts it on the drying rack.

“You fell asleep on me so I figured I might as well. I had a lot of fun tonight.”

“I’m glad.”

“This is the first time since I got here that I haven’t been to bed before ten o’clock. Shitty tries to take me out sometimes but this was better.”

Bitty doesn’t know what to say to that so he focuses on trying to rub the pillow lines off of his face.

“I should get going.”

“I should get back to sleep. In my bed this time. I have a lot of very important meetings tomorrow.”

“I’m sure you’ll do great.”

Bitty hums and Jack must be able to hear some doubt in it because he puts his hand on Bitty’s shoulder.

“I know you’ll do great. You can call me if you need a pep talk.” Jack smiles and drops his hand but Bitty can still feel the weight of it

“I might take you up on that. You know I’m going to have to make a lot more pies so if you wanted to come over again and help out….that would be great.”

“Okay. If you really want my help.”

“I do. Usually I’m baking by myself. It’s nice to have company.”

“I’ll only come over if you let me pay for dinner.”

“Okay, it’s a date.” He catches himself immediately. “A pie date. Not a date. We’re just making pies.”

Jack ducks his head to hide his smile.“Have a good night, Bittle. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He ruffles Bitty’s hair before he’s walking away towards the door to put on his shoes and coat. Bitty doesn’t move from his spot in the kitchen and Jack waves before opening the door and walking out.

 

           

* * *

Bitty presses his bottle of water against his cheek. “I feel like my face is really hot.”

* * *

 

 

           

* * *

“I had a lot of fun with Bittle, tonight.” Jack says as he stands next to his rental car. There’s a thin layer of snow on it and Jack cannot stop smiling. “He’s really great.”

* * *

 

 

Bitty’s morning meetings go great. He gets Mr. Lewis, Mrs. Donovan, and Mrs. Murphy to agree to a spot at the festival without them even having to taste the pie. He’s overjoyed and while he’s still parked in Mrs. Murphy’s driveway he takes out his phone to tell Jack.

He starts and stops half a dozen text messages before he hits the call button.

He answers in a clipped tone. “Jack Zimmermann.”

“Hi.” Bitty flounders for a moment. He was expecting something so curt and professional, not after the way they acted last night. “I hope I’m not interrupting. Umm, it’s Bitty, by the way.”

“Bittle, hi.” His voice noticeably brightens. “Sorry, I didn’t look before I picked up. How did the meetings go? Are you okay?” “They all agreed.”

“That’s great, Bits, I knew they would. I told you.”

“It’s only three people. I’m going to need a lot more.”

“You have more meetings lined up.”

“I know.”

“Why won’t those go just as well?”

Bitty slumps against the window. The glass is cool against his temple. “I’m starting to doubt myself.”

Jack’s reply is sharp and fierce. “Don’t. You’ve made it this far.”

“Everyone else could say no to me.”

“They’re not going to say no to you. Why would they? You have pie.”

“Might not be enough.”

“You’re enough,” Jack says and it’s enough to make Bitty’s breath catch in this throat. “Do you need help with pies tonight?”

“That would be great.”

“I’ll see you tonight then, same time? I’m buying dinner.”

The rest of the meetings go well, just as Jack said they would.

He gets two immediate yes’ and a hard maybe from Mr. Dakin who still needs to check his schedule. Bitty is going to count that one as a win anyways.

When he gets home he takes a shower and stands in the mirror after he gets dressed, clean jeans and a clean shirt, and takes the time to make sure his hair looks good before he grabs a freshly washed apron to put on.

Jack is right on time even though he obviously went home to change out of work clothes and into dark wash jeans and a black t-shirt that’s so snug around the biceps that Bitty spends more time paying attention to the way his muscles shift beneath his skin than he does to the dough he’s kneading.

Jack gets Chinese when it’s time to eat.

They sit at the kitchen table and stretch their legs out and are resting their feet on the chairs opposite to them when Jack asks if he plans to have anything healthy offered at the festival.

Bitty watches Jack down his second eggroll of the night before he responds. “It’s a Festival. Health is not top priority.”

“I’m just saying. It might be a good idea to offer something.”

“Mr. Lewis is going to have his vegetables.”

“Something that’s already prepared to eat.”

“I’ll try to find a spot for a salad booth if that makes you happy, Mr. Zimmermann.”

Jack smiles smugly but tugs on Bitty’s ankles with his free hand to let him know he’s only kidding.

“You should sell your pies.”

Bitty laughs. “Sure, Jack.”

“I’m serious. People would buy them.”

“I’m not going to have time to run my own booth. I’ll have too much going on.”

“You probably wouldn’t even need any other vendors. Your pies would bring in enough money.”

“I seem to remember you telling me that I couldn’t save the government with a bake sale.” “I was wrong,” Jack says honestly, “about a lot of things.”

The only thing Bitty can hear is the ticking of the bunny shaped clock that’s hanging on the wall behind him and the sound of Jack taking a deep breath before he opens his mouth.

“Bittle-.”

He’s interrupted by blaring of the oven timer and Bitty jumps up to get the nutmeg maple pie out before it burns.

Jack doesn’t continue the conversation and even though Bitty wishes he would, he doesn’t push.

The next two weeks pass in a blur.

Bitty takes meeting after meeting and every night he and Jack bake pie after pie.

They bump elbows and gently hip check each other for space in the kitchen, hiding smiles with chirps. They eat Thai and Italian and reheated leftovers from Bitty’s fridge either cramped together on Bitty’s couch or at the kitchen table. Every time Jack leaves for the night Bitty feels a twinge of regret that it doesn’t end with a goodnight kiss.

 

******** 

 

“Do you need help with that, Bitty?”

“No, I’m okay, Chowder.” Bitty has made it from the car, up the elevator, and down the hall to his office balancing four boxes of pie, he can make it these last few feet. “But thanks for the offer.”

“Do you have more meetings today? I thought you were done,” Chowder asks.

“I am. My last one was yesterday; it was a yes, by the way. There will be a bouncy house at the Winter Festival.”

Ransom and Holster fist bump and Rans points a finger at Lardo when he catches her rolling her eyes at them. “Don’t act like you won’t be bouncing in there too, I know you will.”

“Aren’t you guys a little old for that?”

“There’s no age restriction on fun, Lards.”

“It’s going to be shaped like a snowman if that changes your mind,” Bitty says as he opens one of the boxes. “These are for you guys as a thank you for all that you’ve done for me these last few weeks.”

There’s an instant crowd around the pies and Bitty loves his co-workers, his family, so much he feels like he could cry.

“You should sell these, Bits,” Nursey says around a mouthful of caramel apple pie, “at the Festival.”

“Jack said the same thing to me.”

“Jack Zimmermann?” Lardo asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Yup.”

“I totally knew this was going to happen,” Lardo says as she taps her fork against her plate. “I’m gonna have to go give Zimmermann a talking to at some point. Find out what his intentions are.”

“Have you two been hanging out a lot?” She questions but it’s clear she already knows the answer.

“He’s been helping me with the pies.”

“Interesting.”

“It’s really not.”

Chowder tips his head to the side. “Why would it be interesting?”

“Because last I heard Bitty hated his guts.”

“I did not. I misjudged him. I was upset and he was only doing his job and he did try to apologize to me….plus Jack is such a sous chef. Gosh, he’s so….”

“Dreamy?” Lardo fills in for him and Ransom and Holster whistle.

“Bitty’s got a crush, Bitty’s got a crush.”

“I do not have a crush on Jack.”

“You don’t.” Ransom agrees. “You got a monster crush on Jack.”

“His ass is like, crazy,” Dex observes and Nursey gives him a funny look.

“I think he likes you back, Bitty. You should ask him for dinner,” Chowder says with earnest eyes. “You could double with me and Caitlin.”

“Thank you for the offer, Chowder but that’s not going to happen.”

“Because Bitty wants to get Jack all alone and have his way with him.”

“I do not.”

“Uh, yeah you do. And you totally deserve it, you’ve been working so hard lately.”

“So you should definitely work. Jack. Hard.”

Bitty’s face turns bright red and he leaps for his office. “I’m not talking about this anymore. Get back to work.”

“Treat yo self, Bitty,” Ransom yells. “Treat yo self.”

 

           

* * *

“I can’t treat myself.” Bitty’s fingers drum against the desk. “I can’t. I don’t want to. It would be wildly unprofessional and Jack is my friend. Just my friend. A good friend. I don’t feel that way about him…..and it doesn’t matter if I did feel that way about him because my feelings for him are purely physical. It’s a natural response. Because I am a man in my mid twenties and I find men like Jack to be very attractive…..and it wouldn’t even matter if I felt something more for him because Jack is going back to Boston and he’s going to help some other Parks and Recreation department get back on track and he’ll forget all about me….and it really doesn’t matter because Jack is straight so this is stupid. He’s probably straight. Do you not think he’s straight?” His office phone rings and Bitty knocks it off the hook in his haste to grab it. “This is Eric Bittle, how can I help you? Okay. I’ll be right there.” He hangs up and shrugs. “Shitty wants to talk to me about something in his office."

* * *

 

 

He manages to grab two slices of pie and tries not to blush too hard when his Lardo yells after him about how his boyfriend better enjoy it.

Shitty is sitting at his desk with his fingers tented over his face and Jack is standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

It feels very serious and Bitty frowns at both of them.

“I brought pie.”

“Can you shut the door behind you, Bits. Take a seat.”

“Is everything okay?” “As you know,” Shitty starts, ignoring his question, “the vendors you’ve been speaking to have been in contact with us about their processing fees to get them registered and we have some bad news for you.”

“Everyone’s cancelling aren’t they? I knew this would happen. I knew it was too good to be true.” He drops the plates on the desk and jams his fingertips into his eyes to try to stop the tears. “What am I going to tell everyone? They worked so hard.”

There’s suddenly a hand on his shoulder and when he dares to look up Jack is standing over him.

“Bittle, no one cancelled.”

“Fuck,” Shitty says. “We thought this would be funny. We didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“I don’t get it.”

“No one cancelled,” Jack repeats. “We know you __said__ you wanted twenty five vendors but what you __really__ wanted was thirty.”

“So you had thirty five different meetings. You thought some of them would turn you down.”

Jack’s hand on his shoulder tightens. “But none of them did. We got calls from sixty five people. Word got around and everyone wanted to be involved. The bad news is that we’ve had to turn people away.”

“They want to be included next year. Top of the list.”

“You already have fifteen vendors lined up for next year.”

“Fifteen? I don’t have room for fifty of them.”

“Dex and I did another walk through of the lot and you underestimated the amount of space you have. Even with the bounce house that’s shaped like a snowman.”

Bitty lets loose a delighted little laugh. “I can’t believe Dex kept this from me.”

“There’s more. Jack, tell him about the rink.”

Jack turns a soft shade of pink and starts to stammer.

Shitty rolls his eyes at him. “Jack talked to the coaches at the University- your old coaches and they said they know a guy that sets up those portable rinks so Jack talked to him and now….you got an ice rink at your Winter Festival, Bits.”

“Jack, seriously?”

Jack rubs his hand against the back of his neck. “It was really no big deal.”

Bitty disagrees and is out of his chair. He wraps his arms around Jack’s shoulders and presses his face into his neck.

“Thank you, Jack.”

Jack slowly wraps his arms around Bitty and pats his back.

“You’re welcome, Bits.”

 

      

* * *

“I can’t believe Jack did this for me,” Bitty says as he wipes at his eyes. “I meant to find one but I think I was just so focused on everything else that it slipped my mind. I’m lucky Jack has my back.”

* * *

 

         

* * *

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Jack stresses. “I mean, I remember it being there when I was a kid so it was kind of selfish actually. But I’m glad it made him happy. That made me feel good.”

* * *

 

 

“Mr. Knight and Mr. Zimmermann, you are late.”

Bitty stands with his hands on his hips beneath the Winter Festival 2016 banner than Lardo had made. It’s beautiful and crooked because Holster and Nursey can’t seem to work together to hang it straight no matter how much Dex directs them.

Bitty’s army of volunteers are milling around behind him, doing any last minute work they can find and helping the vendors set up.

After four intense weeks they were hours away from opening and Bitty doesn’t appreciate stragglers.

“Sorry,” Jack says. He and Shitty are both holding two coffee cups each. “Shitty made me stop for coffee.”

“Like your eyes didn’t fucking light up when you realized you could get Bitty a peppermint mocha latte.”

Shitty vary narrowly avoids a kick to the back of his knee and hands his extra coffee off to Lardo.

Bitty takes the coffee from Jack and takes a long sip. It burns his tongue but he feels the much needed caffeine immediately.

“I guess you’re excused this time. What do you think of the place?”

Jack looks around and nods towards Holster’s side of the banner. “That side is too high.”

“Nobody fucking asked you, Zimmermann,” Holster bellows from the top of the ladder but does his best to correct it anyways.

“It looks great, Bittle. Are you nervous?”

Bitty takes another sip and nods. “There’s a million things that could go wrong.”

Jack doesn’t tell him that it’s all going to work out or that nothing bad will happen which Bitty does appreciate. He doesn’t need empty promises right now.

“What do you need help with?” Jack says instead and Bitty slaps an EVENT STAFF sticker on his and Shitty’s coats.

“So many things but for now you and Shitty can help string up Christmas lights between the booths.”

 

         

* * *

 “We have thirty minutes left before opening. People are already lining up.” He bounces on his toes in excitement. The Christmas lights that Jack and Shitty strung up create a soft glow and reflect off the pavement. Everything looks cozy and warm and smells like peppermint, pine, and cinnamon from hot apple cider. “I might actually pull this off. This could work. Everyone did such a great job. I’m so proud.” He takes another look around and spots Jack looking over at the ice rink with a soft expression. “I wonder if he meant to put that in the same spot Ice Town was supposed to go?” Bitty murmurs. “That boy.”

* * *

 

 

When the gates officially open Bitty starts lap after lap around the festival ground to keep an eye on things.

People seem to be enjoying themselves. It doesn’t look like the cold or the grayness of the clouds overhead are keeping people away.

He watches Shitty try to keep Lardo upright on the ice before he buys a cup of cider and fried dough and sits down on a bench.

It’s a little greasy, but it’s familiar. It reminds him going to county fairs when he was just a kid, walking down dusty aisle ways and holding his mama’s hand as his dad tried to win him a stuffed animal.

A little kid bundled up in a thick coat and hat toddles by with his parents running after him and Bitty hopes this festival is going to be a good memory for all of them.

By the last bite he has powdered sugar all over his black jacket and he’s licking his fingers clean when Jack finds him with his parents a few steps behind.

Alicia is in a lush white coat and a red hat with a pom-pom on the top and Bob is in a leather jacket with a black scarf wrapped around his neck.

Bitty hops up and starts frantically brushing off the sugar while trying to keep himself composed.

“Bittle, there you are, I’ve been looking all over. I want you to meet my-what are you doing?”

“You cannot expect me to meet your parents looking like this, you should have given me some warning.”

“You look great, what are you talking about?” He puts his hand in the middle of Bitty’s shoulder blades so he can swing him around to face his parents.

Alicia Zimmermann is the first to stick her hand out to greet him and Bitty wipes his hand on the back of his jeans before he does the same.

“You’re the famous Eric Bittle.”

“Oh gosh, I don’t know about that.”

“That’s the way Jack talks about you,” Mr. Zimmermann and Jack drops his hand from Bitty’s back.

“Papa, __please__.”

Bob says something to him in french and Jack answers back.

Alicia turns more towards Bitty and talks right over them.

“You’ve done such a great job here. It’s just like I remember. You even have an ice rink.”

“That was Jack’s idea!”

At the mention of his name Jack stops the back and forth with his father.

“He did that,” Bitty continues. “He’s done so much for me and for this festival. I don’t know if I would have been able to do it without him. You should be really proud of him.”

Jack and Alicia look genuinely touched and Bob breaks the tension by throwing an arm around his son’s neck and dragging him down into a headlock. “We are.”

“Papa!”

Alicia rolls her eyes. “Men,” she says to Bitty and Bitty laughs. “It was lovely meeting you, Eric. We should get dinner next time we’re in town.”

“Oh, that would be-.”

“Yes, Eric.” Bob pulls Bitty into a quick hug then looks between him and Jack. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again.”

He takes his wife hand and they wander back into the crowd.

“That was amazing.”

Jack runs his hands through his hair trying to get it back in order. “I told you they wanted to meet you.”

“I know but….that was Alicia Zimmermann. She shook my hand. Your dad hugged me.”

“He’s embarrassing sometimes.”

“Is everything okay between you two? There was a lot of….French.”

“It’s fine. He thinks I should do something and he’s right but I just...I don’t….” Jack looks over Bitty’s shoulder for a moment before he finally makes eye contact.

“Jack?”

“Find me before you leave, okay?”

“Oh honey, you find me. I’m going to be here well after we close up for the night.”

“I will. I’ll find you.”

“Okay...now go find your parents and have fun.”

Jack gives him a small smile. “You too, Bittle.”

 

           

* * *

“I can’t believe I embarrassed myself in front of Jack’s parents. And this night was going so well.”

* * *

 

 

           

* * *

“I think Eric is wonderful,” Alicia says. Bob nods his head vigorously beside her then says “Our Jack never stood a chance.”

* * *

 

 

“Jack!”

Bittle calls him name from the rink.

He’s at center ice and slowly makes his way over to the side as Jack strolls over with his hands deep in his pockets.

Bittle’s cheeks are flushed from the cold and the energy he’s exerted from skating but he’s smiling so wide it looks like it hurts.

“I found you,” Jack says.

“ _ _I found you__. Did your parents leave?”

“They’re back at the hotel. I’m going to have breakfast with them tomorrow and then they’re on their way home. They had a lot of fun.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

Jack nods and looks around. There’s only a few vendors left locking up their booths for the night.

“Did everyone else leave?”

“Most of them have. It’s been a long day so I sent them home. They deserved it.”

“Why are you still here?”

Bitty taps his hands on the railing. “This place was so busy during the day so I slipped the owner a mini pie to let me get a skate in before he closed up for the night. You wanna join me?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I haven’t skated in years.”

“You don’t really forget though.”

“Might be rusty.”

“Well….I can’t say I’ll catch you if you start to fall but you can take me down with you.”

Jack laughs. “Where do I get the skates?” Bitty’s smile somehow gets even wider.

Jack is as steady as ever on the ice. His knee aches but he’s not sure if it’s from the cold or the skates.

He doesn’t need it but he takes Bitty’s hand when he offers it.

It’s small and soft and warm and Jack feels both knees go a little weak.

They skate in wide circles until Bitty challenges Jack to a race and before Jack can commit one way or the other Bitty is off and Jack’s chasing after him.

Bitty wins easily but they’re both panting and laughing when they meet back up at center ice. There are snow flurries in the air as Jack takes his hand again even though it’s obvious to both of them he doesn’t need to.

“Oh lord, Jack,” Bitty presses a free hand to his cheek and laughs. “Now what?”

“You have to give me a couple of minutes before I can race you again. I’m not as young as I used to be, Bits.”

“Not that. I’m talking in general. I did the festival and I think it was a success-.”

Jack squeezes his hand. “It was a success.”

“There’s still six days left….but even if it all works out where do I go from here? What do I do?”

“You wanted to get those classes at the Y.”

“That seems so insignificant now.”

“You want to help people. You want to give back to the community. That’s not insignificant. But if you don’t want to do that you don’t have to. You can do anything you want.”

“Not __anything__.”

“Sure you can. Look around, you did all this.”

“I had a lot of help.”

“But it was your idea. Give yourself some credit. You could be president if you wanted to.”

Bitty bursts out laughing. “That’s quite a leap.”

“My mom would endorse you.”

“We’ll see. What about you? You’re headed back to Boston.”

“I guess. I mean, that’s where my job is.”

“But is that what you want to do?”

“What else am I going to do? Quit? I can’t do that to Shitty.”

“I think Shitty would want you to be happy. So what makes you happy?”

“This,” Jack says “Skating. I miss skating. I can’t play the way I used to but I miss being out here.”

“So do that. You know Coach Hall and Coach Murray aren’t getting any younger. I’m sure they’d love some help. Or we could start a town league. You know, for kids or something. You could be the coach. I bet if I introduced it we could get it approved. You could be the coach! Are you good with kids?”

“I think you just figured out what you’re going to do next.”

“If you’re planning on staying I could draft a proposal tonight. I’ll say how important exercise and team sports are for growing kids. I bet you could use the ice at Faber. Maybe team up with the Samwell players. It would be great.”

“You sound like you have it all figured out. I hate to mess up your plans.”

“So you’re going to stay?”

“Do you want me too?”

Bitty stops skating and Jack stumbles at the suddenness of it but manages to catch himself. “I want you to be happy, Jack.”

“Skating makes me happy but it’s not the only thing.”

“What else then? You should do that too.”

Bitty’s not surprised when Jack skates closer and fits Bitty’s cheek into his palm or when he leans in and kisses him, soft and slow.

When they part Jack rests his forehead against Bitty’s.

“My parents want you to come to breakfast tomorrow, if that’s okay with you.”

Bitty leans up to kiss him again. “I’ll be there.”

 

           

* * *

“Winter Festival 2016. I know there’s still six days left but I’m calling it now. This is the best thing I’ve ever done.” Bitty is glowing as Jack tugs at his hand until he’s tucked beneath his arm. “It’s going to be hard to top this next year.” Jack presses a kiss to the top of his head. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

* * *

 

 


End file.
